The Conspiracy
by Eletha Landon
Summary: Dad sends us out on this damn 'fun day' for some family bonding and barely five minutes into it things don't seem right. Simon's being suspicious and Tori's acting weird. On top of that they're both acting unusually chummy towards each other. And even if that wasn't enough, Chloe's here and things between her and I are, well... complicated. DPOV. Co-written with xSweetEternityx!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note (Eletha Landon): Alright, how's it going guys? So xSweetEternityx and I thought it would be fun to try and work together on a short story as a collaboration of some sort. You guys should know her pretty well. She wrote Never Alone, an amazing piece that she put a lot of work and time into and if you haven't read it yet, shame on you. You're truly missing out. She's currently working on Amnesia which I'm starting to feel is ten times as extraordinary as Never Alone and it deserves a lot of love. :D**

**Anyways, we're going to mash-up our writing styles together and see how that works out, for fun of course. This will only be four chapters in Derek's POV. I'll be writing chapters 1 and 3 while Sweet will work on 2 and 4. It's AU/AH with no powers before a hundred people try to ask. :P**

**Other than that, bear with us and we'll see how this goes!**

**Enjoy! **

**The Conspiracy**

**Part 1**

I trudged down the stairs, absently rubbing at my eyes to shed the last of early morning grogginess from my vision. Grimacing as the action had a minimal effect, I strode across the entryway before passing through the swinging door that led to the kitchen.

My first stop every morning.

"Bud, why aren't you dressed?"

I glanced over the kitchen counter that separated it from the dining room and found Dad sitting at the dinner table, cup of coffee in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other. He was looking at me as if I had just been caught with my hand in the cookie jar after he had explicitly told me I couldn't have any more cookies. Of course, I wasn't five. I was seventeen and this reaction from my dad confused me.

I glimpsed down at myself, clad in nothing more than a pair of old, school merchandise sweats. Considering I lived in a house with only my dad and my brother Simon, none of us really cared if we walked around shirtless before getting ready for our day. Or after Simon and I had gone for a run or kicked around a ball in the backyard. I always came downstairs for breakfast like this.

"Geez, Derek, did you just wake up?" Dad huffed, his tone slightly exacerbated.

"Yeah?" My gruff response came out as more of a question, perplexed as to why he seemed so frustrated. "It's Saturday."

At least I was always up at a decent time on Saturdays. It was nearly eight. Simon could easily be dead to the world until two in the afternoon.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Dad deadpanned.

I scrunched up my brows, jogging my hazy brain to life in order to figure out what the hell he was talking about. Finally, it came to me and I groaned before turning away from Dad to rummage through the fridge in hopes that a debate over this wasn't about to brew.

"Right. Carnival day." I mumbled in a mockingly cheery voice.

My dad-or, if I were to be all technical about it, my foster dad- was a lawyer and a damned good one. He was pretty popular with his firm and one of his co-workers passed off four tickets to the nearby amusement park- some six-flags knock off of some sort- for him and his three kids. Dad thought it would be a good opportunity for me, his son Simon and his half-daughter Tori to spend some 'quality family time' together considering that Tori lived with her mother and we didn't see her much other than at school. Dad had to opt out, though, as he opened a new case in the last week that needed a lot of his attention.

I wasn't very gung-ho about the idea. Especially if it involved Tori. She was the only thing that made me _grateful_ to be the foster kid of the family because it meant I wasn't biologically related to her. It was too bad for Simon because he possible couldn't stand Tori more than I did and they _were_ blood related.

I pulled out a carton of eggs and some orange juice. As I served myself a glass Dad sighed and set down his paper, giving me a wary look. It seemed like he didn't want to argue about me going either. But we both knew that the debate was inevitable.

"It's not a carnival, Derek. It's an amusement park. You and Simon used to love going there."

"Yeah, when we were ten. We don't really like amusement parks anymore."

Dad's brows bunched together as he replied, "That's strange. I wonder why Simon seemed so excited to go."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright,_ I_ don't really like amusement parks anymore. Too many people, screaming kids everywhere and-"

"-_and_ we've already had this discussion, son. You're going. Besides, it'd be awful rude of you to cancel and leave Chloe to deal with your brother and sister all by herself."

I choked on my orange juice.

As I regained my composure, I met Dad's suspicious amused grin with no doubt an incredulous look.

"What the heck do you mean Chloe will have to 'deal with them by herself'?"

He shrugged and opened up his newspaper again. "Simple. I suggested that Simon invite her and give her my ticket since I can't make it."

"Why would you do that?" I sputtered out before I could stop myself. Dad reacted by sneaking a coy look my way.

"Well, she's been in town for a couple months now and her aunt expressed that she was concerned about Chloe making friends. I assumed that the two of you were friendly enough now that there would be nothing wrong with inviting her along. _Is_ there something wrong with that?"

Was there something wrong with spending the entirety of the day with Chloe Saunders? Yes. Yes there was. Chloe had moved into the neighborhood just a couple months ago. Dad knew her father from college and had done some work with her aunt some time before Simon was born. So he had this asinine idea of going to greet them and catch up, bringing Simon and I along just to be polite. That's when I met her.

Back then, Chloe was just this short, plain-Jane sort of girl who barely looked older than fifteen with doe-like blue eyes and long strawberry-blonde hair. Sure, she was cute, but that merited for Simon to instantly pounce on her and turn on his charm. They immediately hit it off and I thought 'Great. Another girl for Simon to dump in two weeks.' Not that Simon was a bad guy when it came to dating girls. He just had a knack for attracting a certain type. Shallow. And he usually lost his interest pretty quickly.

However, it hadn't been anything like that whatsoever.

The next week at school I walked into English and found Chloe in the seat next to mine. We were a year apart, but I was the one in 11th year English because, well, I sucked at English. Math and science were more my thing, whereas English I found to be a complete and utter waste of time. But that was aside from the point. Mr. Bissell paired the two of us together for some sort of Shakespeare analysis type project that we'd be working on for that week and, to say the least, Chloe and I butt heads. A lot.

What surprised me though, was that when I usually didn't go out of my way to play nice as Simon constantly badgered me to do, it just caused people- girls pestering me only to get on Simon's good side mostly- to scurry away, not wishing to bother big, bad Derek Souza again.

No dice.

Chloe was back with a retort without even blinking an eye, as if she wouldn't put up with my crap. I could admit that I was somewhat impressed, but that didn't mean that I was starting to like her. Quite the contrary, in fact. Even Simon could tell that we couldn't stand each other. To say that was the longest week of my existence would be an understatement. Once it was over I thought that I wouldn't have to deal with her anymore.

Until she approached me the next week.

"Listen, I know we don't particularly get along but, I wanted to ask you a favor."

"You're asking _me_ for help?"

She ignored my sarcastic tone and pressed on.

"Mr. Sandbeck told me about your scores in math and that you're already in college courses."

"What about it?"

"Well, I'm not particularly great at the subject and I wanted to ask you to-"

"Wait," I interrupted. "You want me to tutor you?" This time, I was genuinely taken aback. However, Chloe gave me a pointed look and replied, "If you help me with math, then I'll help you with Mr. Bissell's English course. Think about it and meet me Monday after school at the library."

At first, I was apprehensive and almost turned down her deal. How the hell were we going to get any work done if neither of us agreed with each other? Yet, I really did need to pick up my grade in English if I wanted my transcript to look good for the colleges I was applying to and I couldn't keep having Simon do my homework for me. If getting myself accepted into the colleges of my choice meant sucking it up and trying to be civil with Chloe Saunders, it was worth a shot.

Shockingly enough, this girl had a talent for catching me off guard. When we met up in the library the following Monday for our first study session, she caught my eye from across the room where I sat at one of the back, quiet tables and she smiled. It was strange really because she informed me as soon as she got to the table that she really hadn't expected me to show up and though I had rolled my eyes in response, I couldn't help but notice the weird motion my chest took when I met her soft and sincere grin.

That's when things started to get complicated. Our study sessions became a regular occurrence every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Over the course of a couple weeks, our arguments occurred less and less whereas casual conversations I normally didn't have with anyone other than Simon or my dad replaced it. I'd see Chloe outside of class and study hall around the school, like at lunch or during assemblies and she'd toss me a smile before returning to whatever it was she was doing. I even once saw her on one of my runs.

I was jogging through the park near our neighborhood one evening and saw her sitting cross-legged on a bench writing in some sort of journal. It hadn't been dark yet but the sun was setting and I remember how seeing her there all alone had made me so angry. Why the hell was she sitting at a park at night all by herself? Wasn't she aware as to how dangerous that was?

Before I knew it, I was looming over her. I startled her of course because she thought she had been alone, which meant she wasn't paying too close attention to her surroundings. Which, naturally, made me even more furious with her.

"I could have been a total stranger, Chloe. I'd have you across this park and into my van in less than ten seconds if I were some sick freak kidnapping kids all alone at playgrounds. Or worse-"

"-I didn't come out here completely oblivious, Derek," She interrupted before holding up a small can of pepper spray that she had clutched in her left hand. "_You_ should be the one considering yourself lucky that I couldn't mistake your angered tone for anyone else, or else I'd have sprayed you."

"And you think that would help you?"

"It'd give me time."

"Chloe," I growled. She knew I was right, but she just had to be so damn stubborn and challenge me.

We stared at each other for a good long minute and when it became obvious that she wasn't going to break, I sighed.

"What are you doing out here anyways?"

At that she blanched and glanced away.

"Just getting some air?" Her statement trailed off as if it were a question. So she had no real reason to be out here by herself? I had to clench my fists to keep from snapping at her again.

Instead, I took a deep breath and murmured, "Come on. I'm walking you home."

She protested the majority of the way but finally fell into step beside me as well as remained silent. Sulking, no doubt, but after a few seconds the spring breeze cut through us and the quiet was almost peaceful. Comfortable even. She didn't say goodbye without a remark that sounded something like 'I can take care of myself.' However, I hadn't paid too much attention to that as she left me on the sidewalk with a reluctant but seemingly grateful 'thanks' and I released a breath of relief that she was home and safe. At that point, I knew I was in trouble.

Two weeks later and I find myself eager for Monday to come so that I can see for myself that she's at school, unharmed, safe, healthy, smiling, happy- it didn't really matter what excuse I tried to come up with as far as my adamant desire to see her each week.

I liked Chloe Saunders. I cared about her. And now my previous suspicions that my family was onto me and my little secret was confirmed as Dad's smirk grew upon the expression on my face. Before I could answer his question, however, and prepare to beg my way out of going so that I could save myself from having to deal with these weird feelings I had for Chloe, the kitchen door swung open with the sound of Simon's voice following suit.

"-and now we're back in the kitchen. I apologize for my crummy tour guiding skills. I hope I didn't bore you to death- Oh. Hey bro."

Simon's grin faltered as his eyes assessed me, no doubt gearing to ask the same questions Dad had asked just a minute ago about why I wasn't ready to go yet. That wasn't what caused me to tense up, though, as lo and behold, Chloe Saunders was on Simon's tail, sliding into the kitchen behind him. Her bright blue eyes bounced up to mine as Simon greeted me before she also took in the sight before her. Her cheeks reddened and she turned away, a ghost of a smile touching her lips.

Right. I wasn't fully clothed.

"Dude, don't you know what time it is? Tori's going to be here any minute and you're just rolling out of bed?"

Dad chimed in before I could reply and said, "He merely slept in and is actually on his way upstairs to get ready now."

I met his gaze, willing him to change his mind and let Tori, Simon and Chloe go on the trip on their own, but he was unyielding. The more I wanted to argue against it, the more I had to remind myself that Chloe was here and finding her blue orbs again I could see that there was no way I was getting out of this.

Grumbling in defeat, I placed my glass in the sink and left the orange juice and eggs on the counter for Dad or Simon to pick up because, hell, I was feeling particularly bitter. I pushed past Simon and Chloe without meeting their gaze and dragged myself up the stairs.

Less than five minutes later, I was applying an extra, unnecessary layer of deodorant and brushing my fingers through my mop of black hair, noting that it was due for a cut when I heard Tori's voice downstairs. I pulled on my best shirt- a simple black one that was just a bit less baggy then the rest of my wardrobe. I already got enough upturned noses from my size, I didn't need many people knowing that it had nothing to do with being overweight. But Chloe wasn't like that as a matter of being any sort of judgmental so I didn't mind toning it down a bit with the exaggerated selection of clothing I had. On top of that, I never really did a double take in the mirror hanging on the wall beside the door to my bedroom for I didn't necessarily give a damn whether I appealed to anyone else's standards as far as how I looked. Aside, of course, from intimidating them and having them think I was a full grown man instead of a seventeen year old kid just barely crawling out of the crater known as 'puberty smack down.' Today, though, I just seemed to be doing a lot of things I wouldn't normally do.

My face had cleared up quite a bit in the last year and I was grateful that I didn't need to take the extra shower this morning even though I had taken one the night before. I shook my head when I realized that I was doing all of this just because of some girl and left my bedroom. If I had to say, I suppose I was somewhat satisfied with my appearance.

"We're waiting on Frankenstein?" Tori's voice trailed up the stairs from the entryway. "Wow, I guess there's a first for everything, isn't there? Ten points for team Tori since it's usually me being waited on."

"There's a difference between waiting a couple minutes and being able to take a nap in the time it takes you to get ready for anything, Tori," I rumbled, coming up behind her once I reached the bottom of the stairs. I caught Simon snickering and Chloe cracking a smile when Tori threw me a glare over her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so sorry that I have standards and wanting to look nice." She sneered.

This is why Dad had to force Simon and I to spend time with Tori. Otherwise, we went out of our way to avoid her attitude.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Whatever, let's just get this over with," then turned for the door, grabbing my keys out of the bowl sitting on the entryway table in the process.

"Have fun guys," Dad called after us. "Don't come home until one in the morning, have a few drinks despite the age restriction, get arrested for some sort of public disturbance and force me to pay bail- you kids know the rules." He teased.

I couldn't help but crack a small smile and shake my head at my dad's antics. It was disturbed by the sound of a giggle beside me that nearly made me jump out of my pants just because I wasn't expecting it. I glanced over to see Chloe in step with me, laughing.

"Your dad seems really cool," She said, looking up at me with that damn enticing smile of hers.

I grunted a noncommittal response as we approached my Ford Explorer sitting beside Dad's small sedan in the driveway. Chloe went to the door behind the driver's side before Simon piped up, taking hold of Tori's shoulder to keep her from taking the shotgun seat.

"Why don't we let Chloe sit up front? She is our guest after all."

"Why?" Tori asked, giving Simon a weird look.

"I don't mind sitting in the back," Chloe said.

For a second, Simon gave Tori a look that I couldn't quite decipher, though, the jerk of his head in my direction had my brows furrowing in suspicion. Tori glanced from me to Chloe, then shrugged and muttered, "Alright."

Now _that_ was definitely weird.

Chloe and Tori switched seats and soon we were pulling out of the driveway. I stole a glimpse of Simon through the rearview mirror, hyperaware of Chloe sitting next to me and met his eyes, questioning him with my own. He smiled innocently enough but, as I was looking away, I could have sworn his expression turned devious and he winked.

Somehow, knowing Simon as well as I did, I had the feeling that he was up to something. I huffed, fearing that this was going to be a long and uncomfortably awkward day.

**Hnnnnngh! Had trouble writing. Most of this just spilled out of my brain looking similar in consistency to that of alphabet soup. I thought 'Meh, good enough,' and labeled it as 'quality writing.' :p Hope you guys enjoy this first part and look forward to xSweetEternityx's writing as the second part is hers. :D Don't forget to leave some reviews!**

**Also, happy late Canada day and Fourth of July!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note (xSweetEternityx): Hi everyone! This is my first time doing a collaboration piece with another author, but when Eletha Landon suggested it, I wholeheartedly agreed; it sounded like a challenge, but it also sounded like it would be fun. Not to mention how I'm a big fan of her work. You have got to love the way she can make you squirm and clinging onto her, begging for more.**

**So yes, I'm totally delighted that I can work with her. All right, well, since we're alternating chapters, the flow might be a little strange, but like Eletha Landon said, please bear with us :)**

* * *

**The Conspiracy**

**Part 2**

As we merged onto the highway, I tried to ignore how close Chloe was. She was, oh, about an arm's length away. Not that I was measuring. I caught a whiff of her citrusy shampoo with the air conditioning circulating in the car and my knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. Unlike most girls who showered in perfume, like a certain somebody in the back seat, Chloe smelled nice. That and the fact that she was dressed in a pair of jean shorts, a tee and a pair of sneakers. In other words, something that is suitable for an amusement park.

It never fails to see some girl complaining about her shoes or about the state of her hair after getting off the roller coaster. But thankfully, none of that from Chloe. Maybe some from Tori, but I knew ways to make her shut up.

Behind me, I could hear Simon and Tori arguing about some movie and I was well aware of the awkward atmosphere that lingered up front. I could sense Chloe's nervousness, as though she felt that she was a little out of place, and I wanted to make her ease up a little by starting a conversation.

"_The weather's nice today."_

Hell, I sound like the fucking weatherman. Besides, where would I go with that? Announce the temperature off the thermostat? Yeah… _no_. That would go in the Guinness book of World Records for lamest conversation starter ever.

How about… "_You smell nice"_?

That isn't creepy in the slightest. Not at all. Ten points to Gryffindor if she didn't kill herself in her haste to escape out the door and into the oncoming traffic.

I growled in frustration as I discarded each idea as soon as it came. How did something as mundane as starting a conversation become so damn difficult? My eyes went to the rear mirror and saw that Simon was gesturing wildly at some point he was making. Out of the two of us, Simon had always been better at this type of thing. He could magically pull a topic from nowhere. Me, I'm better with numbers and logic. Good for school, but not helpful with my social life. Which is probably why I have none. But it never mattered to me.

At least until now.

I shifted in my seat as I listened to Tori shoot back a retort on "how wrong he was to the point that it was laughably sad." It was something about one of the movies that was being shown in the local theatre and evidently, my siblings were in the middle of a heated debate.

_Speaking of movies..._

It didn't sound too bad as a topic. Maybe I could even ask Chloe about the latest one she saw. After all, she loved movies. Enough that she carried a small black leather notebook with her everywhere. One time during one of our tutoring sessions, Chloe had left to grab something to drink and while I was shifting stuff around, I had accidentally knocked her bag over. Some of the stuff inside spilled onto the floor and as I was gathering it up, I had noticed that a small notebook had opened to a page full of writing.

It was bunch of notes on movie stuff like plot, colour, lighting and other things that I didn't really get. I had been surprised to see how detailed it was since I never paid any attention to the technicalities. Just if the movie was any good or if it sucked to the point where I would consider demanding a refund.

But in those notes, Chloe had given each movie a rating in the end and clearly wrote the reason why. It was kind of ridiculous in a way, but I got the image of her scribbling frantically into her little black book whenever she watched a movie. I had wanted to ask her about it, but I also figured that she probably wouldn't appreciate me leafing through her stuff so I just put it back and pretended nothing had happened.

So even if I couldn't ask about her written film reviews, talking about movies in general was a fairly safe topic. I cleared my throat as I snuck a glance at the girl sitting next to me. "So uh... you mentioned about wanting to see that-" I struggled to remember the actual title but drew a blank. "-_Superman_ movie that's out. Did you go see it?"

Chloe looked a little surprised at the sudden conversation but she recovered quickly. "You mean _Man of Steel?_" she asked as I shrugged in response.

"Yeah. Sure."

"I saw it last week with my dad."

I nodded as I took the exit off the freeway. "So, what did you think?" While it didn't quite seem like my type of movie, I remember hearing the excited chatter at school about the new remake. "Everyone seems to want to watch it."

That got me a smile and I took a little longer than necessary to return my eyes to the road. "Yeah, there was quite a bit of hype before it came out, but honestly, I didn't really like it."

The admission came out hesitantly, as though she was ashamed to admit that she didn't like this particular superhero movie. And even though I only watched movies when Simon was in between dates and had nothing better to do, I was surprisingly intrigued to hear about what Chloe had thought about the film. "Why?" I questioned, my tone curious.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chloe bite on her lower lip, a sign that she was hesitating on whether or not I really wanted the details or if it was just an automatic reply. When I gave her an expectant look, she smiled and her reluctance dissipated. "Well, I did kind of like Clark's back story about his childhood," she began. "But I think the excessive damage caused in the fights later on made the movie irredeemable. Not to mention all the plot holes and how rushed it felt. There was this scene..."

And so for the rest of the car ride there, Chloe filled me in on what she liked and didn't like about the remake. Before long, I pulled into a parking space and the last bit of the conversation subsided. As soon as I turned off the ignition, Simon threw the door open and bounced out. "Wow, it's been forever since we last came here, hasn't it?" he asked as he took in the scene in front of us. "I used to love this place."

I rolled my eyes as I pressed the auto-lock on the remote. "And apparently, you still do. I'm starting to feel that you stopped maturing at age 12," I muttered as Chloe giggled.

Simon flipped me the finger. "Whatever, bro." Then he turned to Chloe and mock-whispered, "Just ignore him. He acts like that, but wait until he gets on the wooden roller coaster. That's his favourite."

Chloe grinned as she looked up at me. "Yeah? That's mine too."

I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant at the idea of liking something in common. It was no big deal; lots of people liked the wooden roller coaster. But even so, I couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth at Chloe's grin.

We exchanged our tickets for a hand stamp and entered the amusement park. Once inside, it was like entering a whole different world. Outside, everything was kind of muted and moving in slow motion, but here, it was the opposite. Cheery recorded music blasted from nearby rides and people of all ages chattered excitedly as they passed, not even sparing us a glance. The metallic whirling as machines operated to perform what they were designed to. The dull _clank clank_ and high pitched squeals as a roller coaster descended from a slope.

Everything was in constant motion. From the different rides to the guests milling about. From the popping of popcorn to darts whizzing towards their targets on the wall. A couple of kids, no older than eight or nine, ran towards me and I jerked back just in time to avoid colliding into one. The boy shot me an apologetic grin and caught up with his friends, delight on his face. Obviously, he and his friends were having a great time because they raced for the lineup at another ride, not wanting to waste time with something as frivolous as walking.

Gazing after them, I could see a faint version of Simon and me at a similar age looking just as carefree as those kids. We used to want to go on every ride at least once, our cheeks rosy from running from place to place. After each ride, we'd laugh until we were dizzy and breathless before saying that we wanted to do it again. Nothing else seemed to matter. Only that we played as much as we could before our dad told us that it was time to go home.

Those days seemed to stretch forever and I had forgotten what it had been like to just forget everything and have fun. I used to live for those days, waiting anxiously for the summer to come just so that my family would go to the amusement park.

But as time passed, I grew up and the memories faded. The vivacious music muted. The roller coaster slowed to a stop. And the colour drained away, turning the once-magical world into something monotonous and dull. School became more important and even when it was summer, I busied myself with prepping for college, never once thinking about the good times I had as a kid.

But now, those memories came rushing by like a river of endless emotions. And I was caught in the middle of it, not knowing where to look, but at the same time, knowing everything because I had lived through it. When I was reminded about the amusement park event today, I admit that it felt like I was being dragged to do something that I had no interest for. But now that I was here, it didn't feel like that anymore.

There was something about the atmosphere itself that made you feel like being a kid again, even if it was only for a few hours.

"Derek?" Light fingers brushed my arm and I glanced down to see Chloe looking at me with a concerned expression. "You okay?"

I blinked away the memories and took in the present scene. Tori and Simon were a little further ahead, looking back at us, probably wondering what was holding us up. "Yeah."

"Y-you sure? I mean... you didn't seem to be thrilled earlier about coming here."

_So she did notice after all_. I gave her a small smile. "Yeah. I'm good," I murmured as Tori tapped her foot impatiently in the distance. "Let's go before Tori chews our heads off."

The first ride we chose was the wooden roller coaster. Since it was pretty famous in our area, there was a massive lineup for it, but we waited until it was our turn. Since it was divided into two seaters, I sat in the very back seat as Tori climbed her way in the seat in front of me. As Chloe motioned after her, Simon held her back. "You don't want to sit next to Tori," he advised as Chloe's brows furrowed in confusion. "You'll go deaf from her screaming. Sit with Derek instead."

"Hey!" Tori protested as her half-brother shot her a good-natured grin and sat down next to her. "I do_ not_ scream."

"Oh yeah? You wanna bet?"

I tuned out their incessant bickering and out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Chloe took her seat next to me. "You don't scream, do you?" she teased as the ride operator stopped by to make sure everything was secured.

I gave her a look. "Do I look like I scream?" I asked as her grin widened.

"You don't look it, but you never know," she mock-whispered.

I rolled my eyes but said nothing as the ride began with a sudden lurch. I swallowed thickly as the roller coaster turned a corner and _click-clicked_ up the rails for the first slope. As we began our slow ascent, I turned my head to the side and marveled at the sight. We could see everything in the park. The people below looked like ants as they sauntered about. Even the music was more subdued. I was barely aware that the roller coaster was slowing down until Chloe let out a small gasp and I whipped my head to see that we had already made it to the top of the slope.

I grinned at her. "Ready?"

She shot me a look that was part anticipation and part trepidation. "No! Oh my-" the rest of her sentence ended in a scream as we lunged forward so quickly that it felt like we were barely holding on for our lives. I let out a whoop of laughter as the wind roared in my ears. One moment, it felt as though we were falling and the next, we were crushed against our seats as our train soared uphill again. And just like that, the biggest slope was conquered.

A few minutes later, we emerged from the ride, still feeling the effects of the thrill as we lumbered our way to the photo shack. There was a part on the ride where the camera captured the moment and after a second, I spotted the one of Chloe and me, trying to look as bored as possible. It had been a little difficult to keep a straight face as the roller coaster was zooming downhill, but we did it. In the photo next to us, Simon and Tori sipped from invisible tea cups and tried to hold the position. However, it was ruined by Simon's scrunched up face as the force of the wind hit him. Tori cracked up as soon as she saw it. "So classy, Simon," she teased.

"Hey, I was on the outside, okay?" said Simon, trying to look peeved but failed as a smile tugged on his lips.

"Uh huh. Sure, tell yourself that if it makes you feel better," Tori sneered. Then after a moment, she looked around. "So, what next?"

"How about the Hellivator?" Chloe suggested as she nodded to the tall structure.

I eyed the ride. It was a new addition to the park long after I had stopped coming here. It was basically an elevator sort of ride that strapped you in with shoulder supports before shooting up at a ridiculous speed. But despite the occasional shrieks during the initial blast off, it didn't seem like a challenge. "Doesn't look like much but sure," I said, striding over to the lineup. "Let's see what it can do."

. . . . . . . . . .

A handful of minutes later, we emerged from the ride as I closed my eyes, bracing myself against a nearby fence. It had seemed so simple, but I swear the contents of my stomach sloshed up into my thoracic cavity when we were shot into the air.

"Are you okay, Derek?" Chloe asked, sounding concerned.

I opened my eyes to see her looking at me, her brows furrowing. "Yeah," I managed to say as Tori snickered behind me.

"You sure about that? Looking a _little_ green there," she said in a singsong voice.

I shot her a glare, telling her to shut up. "I'm fine," I said through clenched teeth.

She returned my look with one that said that she didn't believe me but shrugged and walked ahead. Simon glanced between me and Chloe. While he did look somewhat worried, there was a gleam in his eye that I didn't like. "So are you okay to go on more rides?" he questioned as I scowled at him.

"Of course," I growled.

Simon ignored me as he turned to face Chloe. "Derek likes to act tough, but would you mind keeping an eye on him?"

Chloe looked a little surprised but she recovered quickly and smiled at me. "Yeah no problem. Leave it to me," she said, grinning.

I sighed in exasperation. Apparently, I couldn't be trusted with my own health. But when I noticed how close Chloe was sticking to me, I forgot about my annoyance by the time we got onto the next ride.

We were looking for our fifth ride when Simon suddenly stopped. "Oh man. We _have_ to go on that one," he exclaimed, pointing at a circular type of ride that resembled a Ferris wheel, only that it was horizontal instead of vertical and went a lot faster.

"Uh, no we _don't_ have to," Tori clarified as she gestured at the long lineup.

"Tori," said Simon and the two of them exchanged a look that I couldn't quite interpret.

After a moment, my foster half-sister rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's go on the Music Express."

With the number of people in line, it took us a good chunk of our time to finally get onto the ride. As I climbed in after Chloe, I saw Simon gesture to Tori at the one behind us. At my quizzical look, Simon shouted over the music, "There's no room."

What the fuck was he talking about? Each car could hold at least four people and considering how we were all pretty lean, there was plenty of room. But before I could voice my reply, they had already gotten settled into their own car.

Once the ride attendant made sure the handle bar was locked, the ride started to accelerate. Even though this was my first time on this thing, all my years of physics figured out the mechanics of the ride a few laps in. Chloe and I started out sitting with a small distance between us but as the ride got faster and faster, it was evident that maintaining that distance was starting to prove difficult.

Due to angular momentum, which is given by multiplying angular velocity and the inertia of the rotating body about an axis or rotation, all of the riders were shoved against the far side of the car in a similar way compared to that of swinging a bucket full of water in a circle with a piece of string and having no water splash out. But it also meant that Chloe was now pressed up against me as she struggled to hold onto the handle bar. "I'm sorry!" she yelled as the booming music roared in our ears. "I'm trying!"

She attempted to peel herself off me by using the bar to pull herself along but it looked like more work than it was worth. "It's okay!" I yelled back as she glanced at me. "Just relax."

"Okay."

I would argue later on that I had no ulterior motives for letting her rest against me because it _was_ difficult to maintain a distance with the angular velocity we were going at. But as the ride progressed, I was more than aware that our sides were pressed so closely together that it was hard to tell where my body ended and where hers began. I was so tuned into the sensations that Chloe had caused that I was able to ignore the merciless metal wall that was digging painfully into my other side.

However, my right arm was starting to go numb under Chloe's weight.

Gently, I shifted so that my arm rested against the back of the car, right behind Chloe's head. If I wanted to, I could have easily slung my arm around her shoulders, but I wasn't sure if it would make her uncomfortable. And judging by the faint blush on her cheeks, she looked uncomfortable enough.

As the wind blew strands of Chloe's hair onto my face, I could smell the chemical mixture of oranges and grapefruit. It took everything I had to stop myself from sniffing her hair. Because that was creepy. Not to mention that it would definitely make things awkward between us.

_But for now, I'll just stop thinking and enjoy the ride._

Once the ride ended, Chloe inched away slightly subconsciously, her cheeks tinted with a faint blush. I was a little disappointed with the ride's short duration but at the same time, I was glad that I could think coherently again.

"Well, _that_ was not awkward at all," Tori muttered as she glared at her half-brother. "Thanks for suggesting the Music Express."

Simon sighed as we climbed down to let the next group in. "Just deal with it, Tori," he mumbled exasperatedly. "It's for a good cause."

I was about to ask what they were talking about when I felt a pair of eyes looking at me. Turning, I met Chloe's startled gaze. Embarrassed that she got caught, Chloe quickly looked away with a shy smile. My heart did a weird stutter as I took in her pinkish face that was illuminated by the full sunlight. Seeing her reaction, my lips twitched and I found myself returning her smile.

By the time we finally caved into hunger, it was long past lunchtime, but even then, there were people everywhere. Nearly every table was occupied with even more people milling around with food. We stood at the side, scanning for a place to sit when Chloe suddenly exclaimed, "There!"

She pointed to a table where a mother of two kids looked like she was packing up. We hurried on over before anyone else could claim it. Simon let out a tired sigh as he planted himself onto the bench. "Finally," he muttered. "I'm exhausted and I'm hungry. Not a good combination."

Tori rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips. "God, is food _all_ you can think about? How about going to get us some, huh?"

"I'm saving the table."

Tori let out a scoff. "Fine. I'll go with Chloe and Derek to get our stuff. Don't blame me if I decide to get you something you hate," she said.

Just as we turned to go, Simon bolted upright in his seat. "Hey Tori," he called as his half-sister gave him a look.

"What?"

Simon waved in a vague direction off to the side. "Don't look now, but there's some guy checking you out. He looks like your type," he added with a quick glance. "You know, tall, cocky, popular, quarterback sort of guy."

With her interest piqued, Tori halted and scanned the sea of people. "Well, he sure knows his stuff. Where is he anyway? I don't see him."

"Maybe you should stay here. If you're lucky, Mr. Quarterback might stop by. God knows how long it's been since your last boyfriend. What was it? A month before you scared the poor fellow off?"

As Tori sputtered a retort, I sighed as I waved Chloe onwards. "And they're at it again. I'm looking forward to the day they both grow up," I muttered as Chloe grinned.

"So what about Tori's choice of food then?"

I shrugged as we headed towards a burger joint. "Get her the unhealthiest, greasiest thing you can find. She can't complain."

Chloe laughed, the sound of her voice was a rich, warm melody and I found myself liking it. I had heard a lot of her laughter today and each time, it made me smile without realizing it. As we chatted, I thought back to everything that had happened today and how each time Chloe and I were paired up. Whenever we tried to shuffle things a bit, Simon and even Tori, had different excuses each time. Which was beyond strange. It could just be me but it felt that we were being set up for something. And it aggravated me that I didn't know what was going on. But as the light reflected off her sky blue eyes, making them look brighter than before, I found myself not caring about what my siblings were up to.

All that mattered was that Chloe was having a good time.

We talked for a little while more before she gave our orders to the cashier. A handful of moments later, a tray slid into view full of burgers, hot dogs and pizza slices. As Chloe picked it up, I frowned, realizing that something was missing. "We forgot to get drinks," I said as Chloe stopped, seeing that I was right. "It's okay. You go on ahead. I'll get them."

"Oh okay. See you in a bit then."

I entered the lineup again and I was deciding on what to get when I saw the food stand also offered slush drinks in addition to sodas. Seeing the range of flavours available made me think of one of our tutoring sessions when Chloe had brought in two cups filled with each colour. I had been slightly skeptical because there was no way that dumping everything together could taste good, but she had only sighed and before I could protest, she handed me one. It would look bad if I refused it after she went to the trouble of getting it, so I tried it and to my surprise, it was actually pretty good.

So when it was my turn to order, I got two diet sodas for Simon and Tori and chose multi-flavoured slushes for Chloe and me.

When I went back with my tray of drinks, I saw that the food was still uneaten and that they had waited for me. I passed around the cups and Chloe grinned when she saw the different colours stacked into one. "Hey, you remembered," she said, accepting hers with a thanks. Then she saw my choice. "And you got one too! I remember your skepticism the first time I bought you one."

I shrugged as everyone began opening up their wrappers. "It wasn't as bad as I thought," I replied as Tori made a face at her burger. "So, where's Mr. Hotshot?"

She gave Simon a withering look and he shrugged. "Seems that I was mistaken. Oh well," he mumbled with a mouthful of pizza. Then he glanced at his half-sister. "There will be other chances."

Tori grumbled something uncomplimentary but gave in and ate her food without a complaint. "So, what next?" Chloe asked as we finished up half an hour later.

"Nothing that will make us barf," Tori added as Simon looked around us at the nearby rides.

"How about the gondola? It'll give us a break to digest what we just ate without making it come back up," he suggested as he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the hill.

I glanced over at the structure that resembled a ski lift, only that it gave a good view of the entire park. Along with the Ferris wheel, it was one of the more gentler rides, but still popular all the same. "Sure," I said. "Why not?"

My brother studied me for a moment and then grinned, his eye having a glint that I didn't particularly like. "'Why not' indeed," he echoed.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I had some trouble writing this part since the flow came and went, so I apologize that it took so long for an update. But even then, I had a fun time doing this and I hope you guys are excited to see where Eletha Landon will take us from here because I definitely am. **

**Don't forget to leave her some birthday wishes as it's her 20th birthday today! See you next time! :)**


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